Boulder sees 13.1 inches of snow in late winter blast

But temperatures could soar close to 70 on Monday

Boulder got its first snowfall of the month in impressive fashion Friday as more than a foot of snow fell due to a stronger-than-expected storm hitting the city.

The National Weather Service Friday night said Boulder got 13.1 inches of snow for the duration of the storm. Boulder's record for March 18 is 16.9 inches, set in 1998.

That is a far cry from the forecast just a few days ago, when most weather services were calling for only 2 to 4 inches of snow.

"What happened was the storm system developed a bit farther south," said David Barjenbruch with the National Weather Service. "Instead of it hitting Fort Collins or Wyoming, the immediate Boulder area ended up getting about the heaviest hit of anybody."

In addition to the storm moving farther south than expected, the snow also started much sooner than anticipated. The original forecast had snow beginning sometime around 4 p.m. Thursday, but flakes began falling in the city before 9 a.m. Thursday.

"We had a front and it came through (Thursday) morning and started the snow earlier," Barjenbruch said. "The weather in Colorado can be unpredictable, and this particular storm was no exception."

It was especially jarring considering up until Thursday, Boulder had not seen any snow in March, which is typically its snowiest month of the year. But with just this snowstorm, the city has already approached the average snowfall for the month, which is 16.4 inches.

Advertisement

The sudden swing in conditions may have caught some commuters off guard, as the city of Boulder went on accident alert Thursday night and police were kept busy throughout the day by numerous reports of slide-offs and stuck vehicles.

But the roads weren't bad enough for any of the local schools to call for a snow day. Both the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts remained open, while the University of Colorado and Naropa also kept their campuses open.

BVSD Superintendent Bruce Messinger said that when the district assessed the roads in the morning, they felt it was safe to keep schools open.

"The road department was on this from early on and we felt like we were in pretty good shape," Messinger said.

Messinger said the fact that it was the last day before the district went on spring break did not factor into their decision making, pointing out that the district took a snow day in December right before its winter break.

"We really make the judgement based on the road conditions," Messinger said.

As for the rest of the weekend, Barjenbruch said overnight freezing could lead to some slick conditions this morning, but commuters should see conditions improve as the days go by.

"The warmup really starts for spring on Sunday," Barjenbruch said. "We'll be talking close to 70 by Monday."

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story